Page 21 of Tice's Kind of Trouble
When he cups my face in his hands, most of the worry slides away. Especially when he kisses me like he did earlier. Completely focused, a warm rumble in his chest, his tongue and lips hungry to taste me.
He tears away with a curse. “We need to stop that now.”
He plants me on a stool at the counter while he cooks. Really cooks. Chops vegetables, sautées them like a pro, and delivers a plate of stir fry that makes my mouth water and my stomach rumble.
Wow, how did he know?
“You’re very impressive, Tice. My favorite food is the stir-fry from?—”
“Kenneth’s Grill.”
I gape at him, my fork held over the plate as I try to figure out the look on his face. “How did you know that?”
“I have my ways.”
Something darkens in his expression as he slides onto the stool beside me. When he tugs my seat so I’m between his knees, he looks down for a beat.
Cool fingers of uncertainty skate along my spine. Something is wrong.
When he looks at me again, he takes the fork from my hand and sets it aside.
The ominous cloud is back around him, but there are other undercurrents now when he takes my hands between his.
“I need to confess something.”
Oh. No.
“Oh…okay.” I stammer nervously.
As if he’s in great pain, he winces. “I didn’t just run a normal background check. I did some extra research on you.”
My throat feels weirdly dry. “What kind of research?”
“I invaded your privacy. Looked at your social media. Dug into who you are friends with. Where you like to go. Things that you shared mostly, but I also asked around town to some of my…more knowledgeable contacts.”
Wow. He really was interested in me.
Tilting my head, I look at him as he stares at our clasped hands. “Tice, you weren’t going to do anything bad with that. I’m sure. I can just tell that’s the kind of man you are. And my brother never would have agreed to work with someone?—”
Tice shakes his head, his mouth compressing tightly. “He doesn’t know I was desperate to get close to you. That kind of desperation makes a man do things that he would never do otherwise.”
This all feels big. So much bigger than I know how to process. Tice was obsessed with me. Wanted to know everything.
It feels a little scary, a little thrilling, and yet, very right.
I swallow, my breath coming in too slowly as I fight against tight muscles. “Did you mean me any harm?”
“No. Never. I was going to ask you out on a date. I planned on stealing your heart the old fashioned way.”
Aw. I shiver as I exhale. See, everything is fine.
“That makes me feel better,” I admit.
Tice lifts those dark brown eyes to mine, a plea in his expression. “Forgive me?”
I nod vigorously and pull my hand free, so I can brush my fingertips over the scruff that’s growing in along his jaw. How is he even sexier than before?
“I don’t think the usual rules apply to us, Tice.”
